loses to a tea party favorite, and what yet to come? >> the shakeup. everybody in the world of education is watching. a powerful controversial reformer. tonight, her job is in deep jeopardy. an nbc news exclusive. the leader of iran, what he thinks about the fate of those jailed hikers and the controversial plan to put an islamic centerear ground zero. holy grail. will there ever be a safe pill for weight loss? tonight, the fate of one that was supposed to be a block buster is hanging in the balance. and saying goodbye to edwin newman, whose brilliant career made us all better. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good evening. if there is a lesson from last night, here it is. the tea party is for real, in

case anyone had any dots. and within the republican party, you could see some veteran politicians adjusting to that idea after watching a few establishment politicians go down to defeat last night. they were primary elections last night in a number of importa places and races. the message of voter discontent, and the status quo, loud and clear. while that w last night's result, and november is something else entirel lots of people awoke to a new political reality today. but there's a lot of that going around, starting in delaware where our own kelly o'donnell starts us off tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. tonight, democrats and tea par supporters are excited about the same big upset here, each believing it can help their separate causes. while republican officials are trying to figure out how to win with a candidate they did not want. up early to face a rash of national attention and new

scrutiny. tea party conservative christine o'donnell's senate primary victory defied the republican party regulars who had openly mocked her. even today, no congratulations from her gop opponent. >> he won't endorse me. he said, she has governor palin, why does she need me? >> reporter: her family and frnds pause for a prayer as she made the media rounds. >> thank you, thank you. that is an exciting night last night. >> reporter: tea party upsets like hers have triggered a republican party civil war. >> i am perplexed about what's going on with karl rove. >> reporter: karl rove insists repuicans will lose the seat because she has said "nutty things." >> if he worked as hard for me as he is against me, then i have no doubt we can win. >> reporter: critics claim she's taken extreme positions on social and moral positions,

advocating abstinence and saying that viewing pornography was like cheating on your spouse. >> that was a long time ago, i'm in my 40s now. i've matured in a t of my positions.xd and a lot of the way i present my beliefs. i am a practicing catholic. >> reporter: democratic officials labeled her ultra right wing. too conservati for delaware. but joe biden told mbc's rachel madow democrats should not be overconfident about winning his old seat. >> i think in my state, this new republican candidate is going to have an awful lot of money. i think you're going to see it pouring in. >> reporter: analysts say delaware republin leaders were so focused on calculating a general election win, they misjudged the anger channeled by o'donnell. >> to simply shun a candidate who did win the republic endorsement in delaware i think is counterproductive toward that end. >> reporter: today, a sudden turn around as national gop officials warm to o'donnell and donated to her campaign. >> i look forward to electing christine the next senator from the state of delaware.

>> reporter: in new hampshire, the tight senate gop primary wasn't over until this afternoon. endorsed by sarah palin and party officials narrowly overcame a more conservative activist. and new hampshire's democrat is race is an incumbent. because her win was so unexpected and she's never held office before, so many of her publiciews and comments and positions are just being fully vetted now. brian? >> kelly o'donnell starting us off from wilmington night. a few other big races to note her here in new york state, another win for tea party supporters, carl paladino from buffalo, defeed rick lazio in the republican primary. also here in new york, charlie rangel won renomination to congress in his harlem district

despite recent ethics problems. and in washington, d.c., voters have fired their mayor, adrian fety, who has held that job for just three years. while it was just a city mayor's race, that washington election result last night was heard across the country by those who follow education reform. that's because the defeat of mayor fenty means the departure of a big reformer. the powerful controversial michelle rhee, she's the chancellor of schools in d.c. this comes just as her profile is about to explode even bigger because of a new film called "waiting for superman." that premieres tonight in washington. something about timing. our own tom costello is there for us. tom, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. we're at the museum, waiting for the premiere. michelle rhee has been the national symbol on education reform and she admits she probably played a part in the mayor losing his job.

so the question now, what happens to d.c. schools? for nearly four years, michelle rhee has been on a warpath. along with the mayor, overhauling a school district many regard as a nional disgrace. with an on-time graduation rate of 49%, closing 26 schools, laying off 470 teachers, she called underperforming, and demanding accotabili from those who rein. there are signs of slow improvement. in three years, math proficiency scores from gone from 27% to 43%. reading proficiency from just 29% to 43%. still not good enough. >> it's only half of our children that are on grade level. slightly less actually. so when i look at how much still yet has to be done, it's daunting. >> reporter: championed by education reform activists, she

appears in the a new movie about the state of america's schools, "waiting for superman." >> you wake up every morning and you know that kids are getting a crappie education right now. >> reporter: she alienated teachers, parents and voters. who turned the mayor out of office today. jack jennings -- >> i think she's sma and knows what she's doing. but she is bull a china shop. she's charging around without understanding this is politics >> i me decisions as a mother. when i'm thinking about closing down a school, i think about it from the perspective of, is this a school i would feel comfortable having my own ild in? >> reporter: she won't say whether she wants to stay in d.c. she's engaged to the sackmento mayor. but today the man who will be washington's next mayor declined to say whether he wants rhee to stay. >> let me assure everybody also that we're not going to be turning back any clocks on school reform. we're going to be moving full speed ahead. >> reporter: michelle rheeays if she h to do it over again,

she would communicate better but says she has no regrets about any decisions she's made. >> tom, thanks. while we're on this subject, we want to let you know starting september 26th, nbc news and all the networks of nbc universal, including this broadcast, will shine a spotlight on educaon in america, with a huge gaering here in new york and a series of reports we're calling "education nation." and now to an nbc news exclusive. our chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell was granted an exclusive interview today with iranian esident mahmoud ahmadinejad inside the presidential palace in tehran. they talked about a number of things, including the fate of the american hikers and the plan to build that islamic center in downtown manhattan. andrea with us again tonight from tehran. good evening. >> reporter: gd evening, brian. iran's president personally intervened to get sarah shourd

released because of her medical problems. but when it came to the tough questions, tough details of subjects like the two other american hikers still in jail, and the international criticism today of in's nuclear program, well, then he was defiant. iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad wanted americans to know that sarah shourd had been released on compassionate grounds but the fate of shane shane bauer and their friend, josh fattal, still in jail, is up to iran's judiciary. >> reporter: i think we should let the jud and the court decide about the case. i think this is thgreatest help to all of them. >> reporter: iran's government has been encouraging protests all week in tehran, trying to exploit anger against the u.s. because of threats to burn the koran. and the opposition to the proposed islamic cultural center near ground zero. in our interview, president ahmadinejad seized the anti-muslim tension as a zionist

conspiracy in america. >> translator: i should say there is no conflict between the two countries. we should find where the problem is. i ask this question -- do the people of the united states hate the muslims? is that so? that's not true. muslims do not hate americans, either. this has nothing to do with the people here. that has nothing to do with cultures. we believe that there is a minority in the united states, and they are zionists. they have no religion. they believe in no religion and they have no culture. they are always thinking for their material interests. they are against all religions. against all divine books.

against all divine prophets. their interest lies in hoslity with nations of the world, and the hostility -- their interests lie in creating wars and conflict >> reporter: he suggested that so-called zionists are stopping president obama from improving relations with iran. >> translator: maybe president obama wants to do something. but there are pressures -- pressure groups in the united states whoo not allow him to do so. even if he wants to do something, apparently there are certain groups who do not allow him to do it. >> reporter: you're suggesting that president obama doesn't have -- doesn't have the -- as commander in chief and leader of the united states does not have the decision making power over what he does? >> tralator: do you ally think president obama can do anything he wishes, too?

he does not say so even. there are different political groups and more important, there are zionists there. we say if he wants to do something, there are certain groups who do noallow him to do so. >> reporter: president ahmadinejad rejected today's demands by the u.n. watch dog nuclear agency to let inspectors back in to those suspected nuclear sites in iran. he said he would not let that happen, but seni u.s. officials tell me that if he continues to defy the u.n. on this, that could lead to a major confroation with the u.s. brian? >> andrea mitchell there today in tehran. andrea, thanks. we have another storm update for you tonight. tropical storm karl has come ashore in mexico's yucatan peninsula. all the way there to the left. it's expected to strengthen over

the gulf of mexico. hurricane igor in the middle, the strongest atlantic hurricane in threeears, continues to churn in the mid-atlantic. and hurricane julia is strengthening further west. by the way, both these srms reached category 4 intensity today. th's the first time we've had two category 4s in the atlantic at the same time since 1926. bear watching. when our broadcast continues in just a moment, will the fda take one of the few remaining diet drugs off the market? and later, remembering one of the greats. the wise, witty, and wonderful mr. newman of nbc news. mr. newman of nbc news. ice cream please ? i ve some no, it'sust for new people. hey ! chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ? chocolate ! chocolate it is ! yeah but i'm new too. umm... he's new... er... than you. even kids know it's wrong to treat new friends better than old friends. at ally bank we treat all our customers fairly.

with no teaser rates... ... and no minimum deposits. it's just the right thing to do. look at all this stuff for coffee oh there's tons. french presses, expresso tampers, filters. it can get really complicated. not nearly as complicated as shipping it, though. iean shipping is a hassle. not with priority mail flat rate boxes from the postal service. if it fits it ships anywhere in the country for a low flat rate. that is easy. best news i've heard all day! i'm soo amped! i mn not amped. excited. well, sort of amped. really kind of in between. have you ever thought about decaf? dyou think that would help? yeah. prioritmail flat rate box shipping starts at $4.95, only from the postal service. a simpler way t ship. words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help workers whlost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobs, tourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill. we've paid over $400 million in claims and set up a $20 billion independently-run claims fund.

i was born in new orleans. my family still lives here. i'm gonna be here until we make this right. the truth, sooner or later, a little mayhem hits us all. today, there will be 15,920 accident and that's just cars. if you've got cut-rate insurance, that probably doesn't make you feel too good. but this will: allstate can give you a low price without cutting coverage. dollar for dollar, nobody helps protect your car, your boat, your home... your world from mayhem like allstate. it is the holy grail of th drug industry, they say. an effective, safe pill for weight loss. but it still doesn't exist, and fda advisory panel today took a good, hard look at a diet drug that's been on the market for a

long time and half the panel members said this one, like many before it, should be taken off the market. we get our report on this tonight from our correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: maridia is one of only two weight loss medications available by pscription. and it's been on the market for 13 years. but a recent study of 9,000 people over six years raised serious concerns. on average, subjects lost only five pounds d experienced a 16% increase in heart attacks and strokes. the problems follow a long string of diet drugs causing health problems. >> our arsenal is minimal. we have two drugs that we can use, that web prescribe. >> reporter: despite the failures, drug companies are trying to develop dozens of new medications for a market that could bring in billions a year. but it is a tough challenge. >> when you're dling with something as profoundly basic as the organism's desire to consume

food, it's not all that likely that we're going to be able to find one drug that is able to go to exactly the appetite center and zap it, and not do anything else. >> the risk greatly exceeds the benefit. >> reporter: the fda panel's advice, to pull the diet drug off the market or restrict it, is a huge disappointment to janet gebhart. she says meridia helped her. on a program to lose a lot of weight. >> i understand people have concerned about the health risk but at the same time, there are lots odrugs that people have concerns about. >> reporter: lately attention has turned to two newly approved devices which use lasers or freeze fat cells to contour the body at a cost up to $3,000. another approach but no magic bullet for weight loss. robert bazell, nbc news, new york. when we come back, another health issue. the latest place where we're told the bed bugs are biting in this country. it's just so frustrating.

the middle of this special moment and i ne to run off to the bathroom. i'm fed up with alws having to put my bladder's needs ahead of my daughter. so today i'm finally talking to my doctor about overactive bladder. [ female announcer ] if you're suffeng, today is the day to talk to your doctor and ask about prescription toviaz. one toviaz pill a day significantly reduces sudden urges and accidents all day and all night. plus, toviaz comes with a simple plan with tips on food and drink choices. if you have certain stomach problems or glaucoma or cannot empty your bladder, you should not take toviaz. toviaz can cause blurred vision and drowsiness, so use caution when driving or doing unsafe tasks. the most common side effects are dry mouth and constipation. [ jackie ] i asked my doctor about tovi. and today i'm looking forward to my daughter's wedding.

[ female announcer ] why wait? ask about toviaz tod. you don't love me anymore do you billy? what? i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. [ malhis day starts thwith his arthritis pain. that's bakfast with two pills. the morning is over, it's time fotwo more pills. the day marches on, back to more pills.

and when he's finally home... but hang on; just two aleve can keep arthritis pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol. this is steven, who chose aleve and 2 pills for a day free of pain. and get the all day pain relief of aleve in liquid gels. introducing total plus omega-3 honey almond flax cereal. all the nutrition of total, plus 10% daily value omega-3 ala, and a delicious honey almond cruh. new total plus omega-3. male announcer ] at ge capital, we're out there every day with clients like jetblue financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing e face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours. no, it wasn't. yes, it was. was not. yes, it was.

what do you think? take one of the big ones out? nah. there's wor tonight that the white house will not there's word tonight that the white house will not nominate consumer advocate and wall street critic elizabeth warren to head the new consumer protection agency that was created by that big finaial reform bill. instead, warren, who is a former harvard professor, will be given a job at the treasury department, where she will help launch the new agency. consumer groups, labor unions have been calling for her to head the new agency. opposition from wa street led some congressional democrats to say she cod not get confirmed by the senate. take a look at this picture. scary sit in louisiana's plaquemines parish, a massive fish skill. the water was so thick with fish itooks like a gravel road. and it would be easy to jump to the conclusion that the bp oil spill must be to blame for this.

but believe it or not, the state department of fisheries say no. scientists say when the tide went out, it created a pool just two feet deep. fish were trapped. all the oxygen was depleted. they suffocated. experts say these kinds of mass kills are not uncommon in that area this time of year. huge landmarks have been reached. more women tn men in this country earned ph.d.s as of the last academic year. the margin is small but part of a steady trend, although in some disciplines, like engineering, math, computer sciences, women earning ph.d.s are a distinct minority. confirming the worst fears of those of us who are parents of college students during this year of the bed bug outbreak, two more colleges reporting them. these are in the carolinas. cataba and wake forest. these are in the carolinas. they reported closing dorms, emptying them out for decontamination after the discovery of bed bugs. when we come back,

remembering a family member who was watched by millions of americans. ons of americans. [ female announr ] good friends never run out of things to talk about... and during endless shrimp at red lobster, you can keep the conversation going over endless servings of your favorite shrimp. from classics like garlic shrimp scampi and decadent shrimp pasta. to new creations, like crunchy parmesan shrimp. our best value of the year, endless reasons to get together. during endless shrim right now at red lobste we've been best friends since wwere two. we've always beenlike. [ lindy ] we even both have osteoporosis. but we're active. especially when we vacation, so when i heard about reclast, the only once-a-year iv osteoporosis treatment, i called joni. my doctor said reclast helps restrengthen our bos to help make them resistant to fracture for twee whole months. [ lindy ] and reclast is approved to help protect from fracture in many places:

hip, spine, even other bones. [ male announcer ] you should not take reclast if you're on zometa, have low blood calcium, kidney problems. or you're pregnant, plan to become pregnant or nursing. take calcium and vitamin daily. tell your doctor if you develop vere muscle, bone or joint pain, of if you have dental problems, as rarely jaw problems have been reported. the most common side effects include flu ke symptoms, fever, muscle or joint pain and headache. nothing strengthens you like an old friendship. but when it comes to our bones, we both look to reclast. you've gotta ask your doctor once-a-year reclast. year-long protection for on-the-go women. once-a-year reclast. thais...peggy. what usa pris problem, please? peggy? sure...well...suddenly it looks like i'm being charged a $35 annual fee. yes? tell me it's a mistake. yes? are you saying yes or are you asking yes? yes? peggy? peggy? anncr: want betr custer service? swch to

discover. ranked #1 in customer loyalty. it pays to discover. tonight, we are forced to say goodbye to a lg-time and beloved member of our nbc news family.

the veteran newsman edwin newman, he did it right, starting in radio in world war ii and then on television with nbc for more than 30 years until his retirement. he wasn't knowfor his bombast or volume or his opinions but for his way with words. it made him one of the very best ofll-time. >> my name is ed newman and i'm one of nbc's london correspondents. >> he was part of everything at nbc news for over three decades. the good and the bad. >> president johnson has declared this a national day of mourning. >> when it good bad, it was good to have edwin newman's calming presence on the air. as it was during the coverage of thassassinations that marked our times. >> the lives oall of us of today have been profoundly changed. >> president kennedy, senator kennedy and martin luther king, jr. and the attempt on ronald reagan's life. >> the president washot and wounded in the left side of his chest.

>> he reported from all over the world but he understood home the best. he explained who we were in numerous documentaries and political coverage. he was one of the first to serve as a convention floor correspondent and he moderated two presidential debates. >> the first question will go to governor carter. >> we watched him on "meet the press" a hunty brinkley, the forerunner of "nightly news." he conducted countless interviews over the decades, including the first and only televised conversation with japanese emperor hiro hito. he was a serious guy that never took himself too seriously. he had a great sense of humor and he used it, in cameo roles and as the newsman on "lterman" when dave was on nbc. >> here is mr. news, ed newman. >> ladies and gentlemen, edwin newman! >> and there was that famous appearance as host of "saturday night live" back in 1984.

♪ please don't talk about me when i'mone ♪ >> he could carry a tune as well. and we're violating ed's wishes in that song by talking about him, but we're going to go on here to somhing very important. it was words he loved, because he loved theanguage. he looked after it so well. he was a guardian of the english language, both written and spoken. he corrected grammar wherever he found it being misused or mistreated, in our newsroom or in public. and he wrote two best sellers on the topic. and he showed the way for the generations that came up behind him. he was living in england when he died at the age of 91. for us, that is our broadcast for this wednesday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. we sure hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. see you bac here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

think like a fashionista. shop like a maxxinista.